Thursday, September 27, 2012

This is a bit of a silly little post but I guess a few months ago now I read a post on Hand Made by Carolyn where she was talking about darning a whole in a handmade sock and it reminded me that way back when Emily was tiny Neil got me a sock knitting book for Christmas. Now no big surprise that a lady with a baby strapped to her front or back for most of every day did not learn to knit socks but the baby turns 5 next month and I figured now was as good a time as any.

These are my first pair. They are made with thicker yarn and size 7 double pointed needles. As you can tell they are also not quite the same length. I think I've taken better measurements on my second pair and I've also gotten another book that is all about doing 2 at a time so perhaps that will help. I'm not going to promise tuns of knitting posts but hopefully I will get a few in here and there. I seem to enjoy knitting for some of the same reasons I enjoy smocking. Mostly that it can be done sitting on the couch at night or while waiting for a kid at any number of locations.

Monday, September 24, 2012

No knew projects today just a little pondering and a quick giveaway. As I've been using my patterns I've also been sorting them. This has lead to a growing pile of patterns that Emily has outgrown. She keeps insisting on getting bigger. So if you would like a few used and possible cut little girl patterns some of which are vintage and some of which are nicer brands just leave a comment telling me what you would do with the cute little patterns and how small the smallest person you sew for happens to be. I'll do a random number or two this weekend. Thanks for stopping by.

Just wanted to say that Lee and Sew Blessed Maw are regulars who post sweet comments all the time. Not sure I would have kept this up without you two ladies so while I love everyone who reads I'm going to go right ahead and say that I'm sending each of them at least a few patterns. Ladies if you can email me your addresses I'll put together packages. Oh and Lee what is your dd chest measurement? That will help me know what would work for you.

Please still comment though as I have enough to do 3 people very easily maybe even 4.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

I've never really been blown away by polka dots but at some point this summer Emily decided that she is really into them. That's why 2 of her 3 swimsuits this summer were polka dotted. That is also where the plan for this outfit came from. It has 3 different polka dot fabrics plus polka dot ribbon.

The top is from the Japanese pattern book Girly Style. Forgive me but I can't find the book at the moment to tell you which letter it is but since you would have to have the whole book to make the top it doesn't really matter that much. It was fun and easy to make despite the lack of English directions. It was a pain to trace as are all patterns from that book but doable in a well lit area. I don't use this book as much as I should considering that every time I do I'm blown away by how cute and sweet the designs are.

The pants are the cargo pants from Ottobre 3/2011 minus the cargo pockets. I ran completely out of fabric before I could cut them. I ended up adding ribbon stripes down the side instead. They were fun to make though. They have inseam front and back pockets as well as a fully functional zip fly.

I should also let everyone know that I am working on a Sewing With a Plan (SWAP) project for Emily for the fall but am not allowed to share it until the contest ends. I'm sure I will post between now and then but if I don't show you any sewing that is why. Don't worry I'll detail the whole thing when its done. So far I'm really enjoying the process of making separates instead of outfits.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

I'm still trying to do most of the Sew Weekly challenges though if I'm honest I have to say I've been a complete slacker about actually getting the posts in on time. I figure mine are unlikely to be featured anyways so if I can get it in on time great but if not oh well. Sorry Mena.
The impending change of season also has be sewing or Emily instead of myself quite a bit lately. You see she needs almost all new clothes for fall and winter while I can still wear most of my stuff from last year. I do have the craftsy jeans drafting course that I hope to use to copy my favorite cords before they fall completely apart but I can make it to January with what I have while she probably can't currently make it through a cold snap. The trying not to buy patterns has me using my old Ottobre's quite a bit which is great since every time on arrives I love it so much and daydream of all the cute outfits I will make. Now I'm going back through and actually making the outfits. I have to tell you though I'm finding the autumn sale on Olabethe patterns horribly tempting so don't me shocked if my ticker goes up in the next few days.

I did this tunic for plaid week. It is a modified version of design 25 from Ottobre 6/2010. I added a good bit of length to the bottom two tiers and made elastic casings instead of pleating the neck and arm holes.

This dress was done for Gatsby week. Now I had no idea Gatsby party's and such were a thing until last year when the Sew Weekly ladies made dress and had a party so I was guess a bit here.

After browsing google and etsy looking at kids patterns from the 20s and 30s I settled in on this little Ottobre dress. You see what I liked about most of the dresses from this time frame is that they were little girl dresses not little versions of grown up clothes. I particularly like the ones styled like this where the aline starts at the shoulders and stops around the knee with a nice high neck.

This dress is design number 13 from Ottobre 6/2011. It was relatively easy to sew. I made a 110 with 116 length. The tucks on the yoke are done before you cut the piece which is much easier. The only real change I made was binding the sleeves instead of doing a ruffle sleeve.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

I am so very behind on my blogging lately. I still love all of you we've just been busy here enjoying then end of summer and getting adjusted to our new fall schedule. I've got some fun stuff coming though so please keep stopping by from time to time and as always I love to hear what you have to say.

This was my Sew Weekly creation for music week. I was cheating a bit because it isn't inspired by a specific artist or album but I do think it has quite the rocker feel. I mean really its a pleather skirt with a zebra lining if I were ever a rock star this is the skirt I would wear.

The skirt is the first skirt in the Burda Style book with no alterations. Its a little shorter then my normal skirt but I made the size that hits my hips and fully lined it so I can wear tights easily this winter. Thankfully it is a great pattern and will hopefully become a TNT pattern though I've been watching my weight a bit more closely at the end of the summer because I want my pants to fit this winter so I may have to tweak it or try another size this winter.